Tag Archives: Mark Burnhope

Within seconds of being
inside that Oxonian book shop
he became a portrait: Poet
as a Vase of Paper Flowers,
Hydra with a discarded stanza
wrapped around each head-held-high,
not flailing, knowing her time

is nigh. Alas, he wasn’t privy
to the transformation
at the time — hidden behind
the textual foliage, arms crossed
like threads in a metaphysical conceit
(about Satan the Serpent, or summat,
coiled in the compartments of a bento).

But the camera
still clicked, the flower buds
still stood to attention
and their letters, words, lines
and forms bloomed
in the absence of even a bee,
among so many bookworms.

At last, Salt Modern Voices makes its UK debut & the festivities begin in Oxford with Shaun Belcher, Mark Burnhope, Emily Hasler and Claire Trevien. We will be reading at the Albion Beatnik Bookshop from 7pm, do come and say hi.

As a taster, you will find below a choice quote on each of the four poets, come to hear us if you like what you read.

Shaun Belcher: “Belcher cannot be accused of nostalgia or pastoral myth-making but is as vituperative in tone as Larkin. — Raymond Friel